This invention relates to a material for frying, freezing and microwave cooking and a frozen fried material for microwave cooking capable of significantly reducing moisture transfer from a filling to the coating of the fried material or a material for frying during the freezing period and of holding the soft touch of the filler and the crispy touch of the fried material even after thawing and cooking by a microwave cooking device, such as an electronic range. The invention also relates to a batter utilizable for such material for frying, and freezing and the frozen fried material.
It is generally desired of the fried material to have a mixed mouth touch of the crispy touch proper to the coating and the soft touch proper to the filling. Such mouth touch is usually obtained from the food material which is served immediately after frying.
In keeping with recent progress in the freezing technology, a variety of frozen foods have been developed. As for the above-mentioned materials for frying, a variety of frozen foods have been proposed. As for these frozen materials, there are known those which can be easily cooked using a microwave cooking device, such as an electronic range. For circulation on the market, it frequently takes one to two months since the time of preparation of the frozen fried foods until they are eaten by the consumers. It has therefore been desired to develop a frozen fried material with which the above-mentioned mouth touch desired of the fried material can be obtained even after lapse of one to two months since the time of preparation.
However, it is possible with the conventional frozen fried foods to prevent transfer of the moisture in the filling to the coating of the fried material or the material for frying only for a shorter period of time, in effect, for a period of one month at most. For prolonged storage exceeding one month, the moisture in the filling is transferred to the coating of the fried material or the material for frying, such that, when the frozen food is cooked with an electronic range, the crispy mouth touch proper to the coating is lost. The frozen fried food or the frozen material for frying is generally developed on the supposition that it is stored in a frozen state at a temperature lower than -18.degree. C. However, household storage of the frozen foods by the consumer is usually at -10.degree. C. or thereabouts, while it is difficult to maintain the frozen food at a low temperature of -18.degree. C. In addition, during transport of the frozen foods, they are transiently left in a temperature environment higher than -18.degree. C. If the conventional frozen foods are left for a certain time duration in such temperature environment higher than -18.degree. C., the time during which the moisture in the filler may be prevented from being transferred to the coating of the fried food is shortened, with the result that the mouth touch of the fried food is significantly lowered. Such inconvenience has so far not been taken into account.